Sakalauskas on LKL Finals: Many coaches would do better

Coach Sarunas Sakalauskas told BasketNews.lt Radio why he sees no intrigue in this year’s LKL Finals and who will win the series.

Zalgiris has already defeated arch rivals Lietuvos Rytas twice in LKL regular season and retained BBL title by beating them in the final. The Greens are now leading 1-0 in LKL Finals after an unexpectedly easy win in Kaunas.

Sakalauskas, who has coached Rytas in the past and had a short stint in Zalgiris as a sports director, thinks that the coaches of both Lithuanian giants are unable to get the most of their players.

“I think that neither team is able to create an intrigue this year. The face of the team and an intrigue is brought by the coach.

“Let’s remember what kind of intrigue was created by Kurtinaitis. When he was in charge even those players who were little know in Europe played well. Remember when hr made a center out of a “woodden” Aron Baynes, who was instantly bought by another club. At the moment even Jonas Valanciunas isn’t an important part of the game.

“I think that this coach [Aleksandar Dzikic] is unable to create an intrigue. I have to say the same thing about Zalgiris. The Kaunas side has good players but there’s nobody to inspire them, bring fresh ideas. Then there would be an intrigue in the final series. The final must be unpredictable. Today it’s not like that. There is no intrigue in the final. I am very sorry for that”, said Sakalauskas.

When asked what he thought of Dzikic’s decision not to call a time-out when Rytas began to sink in game one of the finals, Sakalauskas refused to answer saying that if he did then the answer ‘wouldn’t be nice’.

Since the coaches are unable to use the skills of their players Sakalauskas can’t see Rytas winning the finals. A team with a better roster should win since as the coaches are unable to bring anything to the game.

Sakalauskas concluded that there’s a whole bunch of coaches who would do a better job in the finals with both teams.